Continuous sampling apparatus for divided materials

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for the continuous sampling of divided materials. The material to be sampled is supplied as a vertical annular stream and is partially sampled by means having a uniform rotational movement around the axis of revolution of the annular stream. The volume rate of flow sampled is a well-defined fraction of the volume rate of flow at the input of the apparatus, and the sampled portion is conveyed to any appropriate measuring, analytical or adjusting instrument.

United States Patent 608,834 8/1898 Bymes Inventor Roland Dellyes Paris, France Appl. No. 805,456 Filed Mar. 10, 1969 Patented June 22, 1971 Assignee Societe Anonyme: Ciments Lafarge Paris, France Priority Mar. 28, 1968 France 145,806

CONTINUOUS SAMPLING APPARATUS FOR Backus Mason...

Jones 7/1962 Seaborne 7/1963 Bourneetal.

FOREIGN PATENTS 7/1949 France 5/1966 France Primary Examiner-S. Clement Swisher Attorney-Brumbaugh, Graves, Donohue & Raymond ABSTRACT: An apparatus for the continuous sampling of divided materials. The material to be sampled is supplied as a vertical annular stream and is partially sampled by means having a uniform rotational movement around the axis of revolution of the annular stream. The volume rate of flow sampled is a well-defined fraction of the volume rate of flow at the input of the apparatus, and the sampled portion is conveyed to any appropriate measuring, analytical or adjusting instrument.

01 owl 7 CONTINUOUS SAMPLING APPARATUS FOR DIVIDED MATERIALS This invention relates to an apparatus for the continuous sampling of divided materials especially fine materials such as cement, crude cementing materials, and the like.

In many industries, the raw materials or products at different stages of manufacture are in the form of pieces or particles having variable particle sizes and are typically conveyed or fed by the means of endless belts. In order to ensure adjustments and control of manufacture, it is necessary to know precisely the characteristics of these products, which require the taking of a representative sample of a large quantity of material. in order for the sampling of the divided materials to be correct and useable, i.e. in order for samples to be truly representative of the material, it is of primary importance that each particle has the same probability of being sampled whatever its mass, shape and composition.

Known sampling devices may be divided into two classes. The largest number of these devices which comprise the first class, do not respect this probability for they take samples either in a permanent or alternating fashion, at a specific point in the stream of material, by means of systems, which cause the separation of the particles as a function either of their mass, shape or specific weight.

The second class of known devices comprise those which approximately respect the sampling principle referred to above, but the taking of the sample is effected at irregular intervals, over the entire or a part of the stream of material. Obviously, it is quite clear, if the sampling frequency, in this equipment, is sufiiciently high the ideal sampling conditions are approximated. None the less the particles between two samplings going through the equipment have a zero probability of being extracted, and therefore the basic principle of equal probability of being sampled is not respected.

The object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for the continuous sampling of divided materials, which eliminates the various drawbacks of known devices and in which all of the material has an equal probability of being sampled. The material to be sampled is supplied as an annular stream moving vertically from the top downwards and is partially discharged in a continuous manner and partially sampled in a continuous manner by a component or member in the form of an annular sector. This component or member has a uniform rotational movement around the axis of revolution of the annular stream, and the volume rate of flow sampled is a well-defined fraction of the volume rate of flow at the input of the device. This fraction, termed the sampling rate, is predetermined according to the angle at the center of said annular section. The sampled material is finally conveyed to any a propriate measuring, analytical or adjusting instrument.

More specifically, the inventive sampling apparatus for divided materials, comprising a material feeding device and sampling means, has a fixed cylindrical case with a vertical axis of revolution for delivery of the material in which is mounted, coaxially, therewith means for regulating and restraining the incident stream by giving it a revolution distribution and a vertical velocity. Extending from the fixed cylindrical case is a frustum connected through its small upper base to said case and having a large lower base preferably extending downwards through a short vertical cylinder. lnside said frustum is a revolution distributor cone, its top on the overall axis of the apparatus and in the vicinity of and advantageously slightly above the level of the small base of said frustum. The large base of the revolution distributor cone is in the plane of the large lower base of said frustum said base of the distributor cone being extended by a cylinder of the same height as the short cylinder extending from the large base of the frustum the frustum and distributor cone providing between them an annular flow funnel whose short frustum cylinder and cone cylinder are the external and internal output faces. A sampling chute rotatively mounted on a shaft which is coaxial with the vertical axis of the assembly, has a horizontal upper input port in the form of an annular section centered on the axis of rotation, the angle of the annular section being fixed as a function of the chosen sampling rate, and radial ends. The sampling chute is situated such that its radial ends are, respectively, within and without the internal and external faces of the annular flow funnel. The upper, lower and lateral walls of the sampling chute furthermore are connected to one another and to the input edges, defining a vertical discharge jacket having the same axis as the assembly, and in which ends up said discharge and whose lower extremity supplies the sampled material on any appropriate driving device. An inclined wall through which passes said jacket, forms a tight connection in the vicinity of the upper part of the external face of the annular flow funnel and thus forms a tight covering for the apparatus. In the lower part of this wall the unsampled material is discharged. Means for driving into rotation the chute round the vertical shaft are also provided.

The regulating and restraining means coaxial with the stationary case may comprise two coaxial cylinders connected at the ends by frustums, the intemal cylinder of said member forming the flow jacket in which the stream of material acquires a revolution distribution and a vertical velocity. Said means may be adjustable in height in the case so as to modify the input section of the annular funnel according to the characteristics or rate of flow of the material treated. For certain materials with variable" rate of flow and/or characteristics, it may be advisable to provide, during operation, an adjustment in height of said means in the case, as a function of the variations of said materials, as they are being fed into the apparatus. Such an adjustment may be manual or automatic and conditions pertaining to it may be easily determined experimentally.

The dimensions of the chute input port are preferably such that its smallest dimension is at least three times that of the largest particles expected in the stream of materials studied.

The angle at the top of the distributor cone is preferably at least equal to the angle at the top of the frustum. The top of the distributive cone may be located either in the neighborhood of, or in the plane of the output of the cylindrical discharge funnel.

It may be advantageous for certain relatively sticky materials, to provide, in the vicinity of the connecting line between the bottom of the frustum and the lower cylindrical jacket, a surface in the shape of a truncated cone connected through its large base to the surface of said frustum and through its smaller base, located in the plane of the base of the distributor cone, to a short cylinder whose length is equal to that of the cylindrical sleeve ending said distributor cone.

The input port of the chute is advantageously included between two ports which are identical to it and which have no bottom, so that the material which passes through them is sent back towards the outside, i.e. discharged with the unsampled portion of the material. This arrangement makes it possible to compensate for the effect of the walls of the chute input on the sample value, and to ensure that the actual sampling rate is equal to the theoretical one defined by the center angle of the inlet in the form of an annular sector, of the sampling chute.

In order to decrease the fiow rate finally sampled, it may be advisable to place in the vertical discharge jacket, a cone assembly, funnel, rotating chute and discharge jacket, similar to the assembly described and having dimensions fitting those of said discharge jacket. This second sampler acts as a supply canal and a sampling chute and has the same opening size as the first chute above described. The material sampled in the first apparatus is thus subjected to a second sampling for purposes of measurement. In this case, a primary sampling and secondary sampling are carried out in succession, the final sampling rate being then the product of the respective sampling rates of the two devices.

It has been noted that the apparatus according to the invention provides a sampling rate which is equal to the sampling probability of a particle and which, in addition, is independent from the discharge rate of the material and rotational velocity employed.

Several embodiments and complementary characteristics and advantages of continuous sampling devices according to the invention are described below with reference to the ap pended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical axial cross-sectional view of a sampler according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plane view on a larger scale of the inlet of the sampling chute,

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a sampler provided with two sampling stages;

FIG. 4 is a plane view of the chute input of the sampler according to PEG. 3;

H6. 5 is a view on a larger scale of a further embodiment of the lower part of the discharge canal.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the sampler comprises, coaxially from the top, a vertical fixed cylindrical case 1, in which is housed an assembly for regulating and restraining the incident stream consisting of two concentric cylinders 2 and 3 connected at their upper ends by a frustum 3 opening upwards and at their lower ends by a frustum 5 opening downwards; the outer cylinder 3 has a diameter essentially equal to that of case 1. At its lower end 6 case 1 is joined to the small base of a frustum 7 whose large lower base is connected, on the one hand, to a short vertical cylinder 8 and on the other hand, to a tight cylindrical jacket 9 provided with an output port 10.

A distributor cone 11 is placed coaxially inside frustum 7, with its base 11, in the plane of the large lower base of frustum 7 and its top 11 slightly below (in the example shown) the plane of the small upper base of frustum 7. A cylindrical sleeve 12 is connected to the lower base 11 of cone 11; this sleeve 12 has the same length as the short cylinder 3 connected to frustum 7. Frustum 7, distributor cone 1], cylinder 8 and sleeve 12 thus form an annular discharge channel 13 which ends up between the internal (sleeve 12) and external (cylinder 8) cylindrical faces.

A chute 145, comprising a vertical input port 15, a tubular part 16 inclined with respect to the vertical and a vertical part 17 coaxial with respect to case 1, frustum 7, distributor cone 11 and cylindrical jacket 9, is driven into a continuous rotational movement around the vertical axis of the device by any appropriate means, not shown. The lower vertical end 13 of tube 17 of chute 14 leads through a rotating joint 19, with baffles into a fixed inclined discharge tube 19 towards any desired measuring installation, not shown.

The input port '15 of chute 14 consists of a bottom,two radial vertical walls 20 (See FIG. 2) and two vertical'walls 21 perpendicular to walls 20 connected to the top end of the inclined tube 16, the distance between walls 21 is slightly larger than the distance between the internal 12 and external 2 faces of discharge canal 13. On both sides of port 15 is provided an identical orifice 15, which is open at its bottom.

Under these conditions, when the driving motor is started, chute M rotates around the axis of the assembly; the material to be sampled is charged through the top of case 1; the material regulates itself into a vertical stream in assembly 23 and takes the form of a ring in channel 13 where it slides with a vertical resultant velocity; it then falls into cylindrical jacket 9 over the entire lower surface of annular channel 13 except over that part'of the surface which at each moment is above port 15 of chute 14. As a result, the rotational movement of chute 14 effects a continuous and uniform sampling of the material charged and conveys it through port 15, tubes 16- 17 and port 18 into tube 19 and from there to the measurement installations. The material that has fallen out of chute M may be discharged in a continuous or periodic manner, through port 10 of cylindrical jacket 9. It can be seen immediately that under the above-mentioned conditions, the sampling rate may be determined by the geometry of the apparatus and that it is not a function of either mass, shape, or composition of the individual particles comprising the stream of material.

FIGS. 3 and 41 show a preferred embodiment of a continuous sampler according to the invention. In these figures are seen again the vertical loading case 1, frustum 7, and lower cylindrical jacket 9, as well as distributor cone l1 and regulating assembly 2-3--45, all coaxial with one another. In this varying embodiment, cone 11 and frustum 7 are parallel, i.e. their angles at the top are equal. The regulating assembly 2- 3-4-5 is, in this instance, adjustable to a vertical position inside case 1; to this effect, any known appropriate device may be used such as a rack R and pinion P, or the like. Top 11 of cone 11 is, in this instance, slightly above the small base of frustum 7. An axle 22 for a vertical tube 23 maintained in rotation through the bottom in a bearing 24, is placed at the lower level of the internal 12 and external 8 faces on the vertical axis of the sampler. Tube 23 comprises the rear part of chute M whose input port 15, lateral vertical walls or flanges 25, and upper 26 and lower 27 bottoms, can be seen. Input port 15 is placed below channel 13 within and without sleeves 12 and 3; port 15 (FIG. 4) is in this example included between two ports 28 and 29 which are identical in size to input port 15, but do not discharge inside the volume circumscribed by flanges 25, bottoms 26 and 27 and tube 23, but outside this volume i.e. directly into the lower chamber to the cylindrical jacket 9.

Tube 23 passes through a wall 30 inclined on the axis of the assembly, in an essentially tight fashion, and through a tubular sleeve 31 provided on top of bearing 24 the lower level of wall 30, is provided a discharge port 10 in the vertical jacket wall 9 for the unsampled material.

In the lower extension of tube 241 for the first discharge of sampled material and coaxially with the latter, is arranged, below inclined wall 30, either a regulating and restraining assembly similar to assembly 2,3,4l,5 of the sampler described above, or one such as that shown in FIG. 3 comprising, on the one hand, a fixed funnel 32 extended by a frustum 7', provided, at the periphery of its large lower base, with a short cylinder 8, and, on the other hand, a distributor cone 1 1' with a cylindrical sleeve 12', and finally a chute 14' similar to chute 14 described above and comprising the corresponding components of the upper part of the sampler shown in the drawing to which the sign prime has been assigned. This chute 14' is driven into rotation either through the same drive as chute 14 or by other appropriate means, at a velocity which may be the same or different from that of chute 14. Tube 23' here leads into the measurement device or any other one provided.

The cylindrical jacket 9 extending from jacket 9 is closed at the bottom by means of an inclined wall 30, preferably used to maintain the lower part of tube 23 which crosses it and extends to the outside forming the bottom of a port 1.0 provided in the vertical wall of cylindrical jacket 9', for the discharge of unsampled material by the second sampler.

It should be noted that in either case (one or two sampling stages), the distributor cones 11-11 and sampling chutes 143,14 may be rotated in integral with one another, which facilitates their direct drive.

The operation of the sampler according to FIGS. 3 and 4 consists in a repetition of the operations effected by the sampler at a single sampling stage, such as they are described above. The only difference is that the second sampling of the material is carried out in a secondary sampler which is smaller in size than the first stage sampler, for its working flow rate is distinctly lower than the primary sampling.

In the case of crude materials for cement manufacture, and because it was desired to process tons per hour, a case was advantageously used with an adjustable assembly having a reduction in the diameter of the truncated cone 4) larger by 325 mm., an internal cylinder of diameter 210 mm and height of mm., with a reduction in the diameter of the truncated cone 5 smaller by 325 mm.; this arrangement is such that the entering stream of material is piped and restrained so as to arrive at the level of the distributor cone vertically and symmetrically with respect to the axis of the cone. Chute 14 was given a section 60 l5 mm. protruding radially towards the interior as well as the exterior of channel 13; the angle of the circular section of the chute centered on the axis of rotation and laid off on the circumference gave the corresponding sampling rate, which was one one-hundredth. For the second sampler, appropriate sizes were chosen for the hourly processing of 1 ton of material, by giving the chute port 14 a rectangular section of 8X40 mm.

For the treatment of relatively sticky materials, it is preferable to provide the bottom of frustum 7 as shown in FIG. 5. In this FIG, 7 is joined to cylindrical jacket 9. Above the corresponding connecting line between frustum 7 and cylinder 9, the edge of the large base 33 of the frustum 34 is welded along a horizontal circle of the section of frustum 7, the lower base 34 of the frustum 34' located in the plane of the lower base of distributor cone 11 and extended by a short cylinder 8'. A bitruncated volume is thus formed in front of the channel included between the internal (l2) and external (8) faces, this volume being sufficient to prevent the stuffing of the material descending as an annular flow.

The invention therefore, makes it possible indeed to establish a ring-shaped flux applying to the entire flow of material to be sampled and to carry out a continuous sampling on an incident stream of divided material, independently from the mass, shape and composition of the particles of the material to be sampled. Furthermore, it is clear that the sampler according to the invention may be used for materials other than cement crudes and is suitable, after an experimental choice of the various angles and sizes of the components, for the examination of materials, ores or other, having the most varied particle sizes.

lclaim:

1. An apparatus for the continuous sampling of divided material wherein the material is introduced into a vertical inlet and allowed to fall through a passageway between an external frustum and a distributor cone, the material thereafter being sampled by a rotating sampling chute located below said distributor cone, the sampling chute being rotated by a driving means and having an upper end, the improvement comprising a horizontal input port and two horizontal bottomless ports, said ports being shaped as annular sectors, being supported by the upper end of said sampling chute, and being located immediately adjacent each other, one of said bottomless ports being on either side of said input port, and said input port being in communication with said sampling chute.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said distributor cone is rotatable by said driving means.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said external frustum has an internal and an external surface and said distributor cone has a surface thereon, and wherein the surface of said distributor cone is parallel to the internal surface of said frustum.

a. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the divided material comprisesparticles of random sizes and said horizontal input port has the characteristic that its smallest dimension is at least three times that of the largest particle in said divided material.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising two coaxial cylinders in axial alignment with said distributor cone and an inverted, truncated conical surface in communication with said external frustum, one of said coaxial cylinders being adjacent to said distributor cone, the other coaxial cylinder being in communication with said inverted, truncated conical surface, the two coaxial cylinders and the inverted, truncated conical surface forming an annular space for and facilitating the passage and sampling of sticky divided material.

6. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising two coaxial cylinders in axial alignment with said distributor cone, one of said cylinders being adjacent to and immediately below said distributor cone, the other cylinder being in communication with said external frustum, the two coaxial cylinders forming an annular space therebetween for passage of the divided material.

7. An apparatus for the continuous sampling of divided material wherein the material is introduced into a vertical inlet and allowed to fall through a passageway between an external frustum and a distributor cone, the material thereafter being sampled by a rotating sampling chute located below said distributor cone, the sampling chute being rotated by a driving means and having an upper end, the improvement comprising a hollow cylinder having top and bottom ends, said cylinder being located within said vertical inlet and having an inverted frustum at its top end and a frustum at its bottom end.

8. An apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein adjusting means are provided in communication with said hollow cylinder whereby said hollow cylinder is adjustable vertically relative to said vertical inlet.

9. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising a horizontal input port and two horizontal bottomless ports, said ports being shaped as annular sectors, being connected to the upper end of said sampling chute,- and being located immediately adjacent each other, one of said bottomless ports being on either side of said input port, and said input port being in communication with said sampling chute.

10. An apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said distributor cone is rotatable by said driving means.

11. An apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said external frustum has an internal and an external surface and said distributor cone has a surface thereon, and wherein the surface of said distributor cone is parallel to the internal surface of said frustum.

12. An apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein the divided material comprises particles of random sizes and said horizontal input port has the characteristic that its smallest dimension is at least three times that of the largest particle in said divided material.

13. An apparatus as defined in claim 7 further comprising two coaxial cylinders in axial alignment with said distributor cone and an inverted, truncated conical surface in communication with said external frustum, one of said coaxial cylinders being adjacent to said distributor cone, the other coaxial cylinder being in communication with said inverted, truncated conical surface, the two coaxial cylinders and the inverted, truncated conical surface forming an annular space for and facilitating the passage and sampling of sticky divided material.

14. An apparatus as defined in claim 7 further comprising two coaxial cylinders in axial alignment with said distributor cone, one of said cylinders being adjacent to and immediately below said distributor cone, the other cylinder being in communication with said external frustum, the two coaxial cylinders forming an annular space therebetween for passage of the divided material.

15. An apparatus for the continuous sampling of divided material wherein the material is introduced into a vertical inlet and allowed to fall through a first passageway between a first frustum and a first distributor cone, a portion of the material being sampled by a first sampling chute, said first chute having an upper end, being located below said distributor cone and being connected to and communicating with a first vertical shaft, said first vertical shaft being adjacent to and below said first distributor cone, and said first chute and first vertical shaft being rotatable by a driving means the said sampled portion of material is then allowed to fall through said first vertical shaft and through a second passageway between a second frustum and a second distributor cone, and thereafter said sampled portion of material is resampled by a second sampling chute, said second chute having an upper end, being located below said second distributor cone and being connected to and communicating with a second vertical shaft, said second shaft being adjacent to and below said second distributor cone, the improvement comprising a hollow cylinder having top and bottom ends, said cylinder being located within said vertical inlet and having an inverted frustum at its top end and a frustum at its bottom end.

M An apparatus as defined in claim l wherein adjusting means are provided in communication with said hollow cylinder whereby said hollow cylinder is adjustable vertically relative to said vertical inlet.

17. An apparatus as defined in claim wherein said first distributor cone is firmly connected to said first vertical shaft and is rotatable therewith.

18. An apparatus as defined in claim 15 wherein the upper end of at least one of said sampling chutes has connected thereto a horizontal input port and two horizontal bottomless ports, said ports being shaped as annular sectors and being located immediately adjacent each other, said input port communicating with said sampling chute, and said bottomless ports being located on either side of said input port.

119. An apparatus as defined in claim l8 wherein the divided material comprises particles of random sizes and said horizontal input port has the characteristic that its smallest dimension is at least three times that of the largest particle in said divided material.

20. An apparatus as defined in claim 15 wherein each of said first and second distributor cones has a surface and each of said first and second frustums has an internal and an external surface, and wherein the surface of at least one of said distributor cones is parallel to the internal surface of said frustum nearest thereto.

21. An apparatus as defined in claim 215 further comprising a first and a second inverted, truncated conical surface and a first pair and a second pair of coaxial cylinders, the first inverted truncated conical surface being in communication with said first frustum "and the second inverted truncated conical surface being in communication with said second frustum, one of the cylinders of said first pair of coaxial cylinders being adjacent to said first distributor cone, the other cylinder of said first pair of coaxial cylinders being in communication with said first inverted, truncated conical surface, the first pair of coaxial cylinders being in axial alignment with said first distributor cone and said first pair of coaxial cylinders and said first inverted, truncated conical surface forming a first annular space for and facilitating the passage and sampling of sticky divided material, one of the cylinders of said second pair of coaxial cylinders being adjacent to said second distributor cone, the other cylinder of said second pair of coaxial cylinders being in communication with said second inverted, truncated conical surface, the second pair of coaxial cylinders being in axial alignment with said second distributor cone, and said second pair of coaxial cylinders and the second inverted, truncated conical surface forming a second annular space for and facilitating the passage and sampling of sticky divided material.

22. An apparatus as defined in claim 15 further comprising two coaxial cylinders, one of said cylinders being adjacent to and immediately below saidfirst distributor cone, the other cylinder being in communication with said first frustum, the two coaxial cylinders being in axial alignment with said first distributor cone and forming a first annular space therebetween for passage of the divided material.

23. An apparatus as defined in claim 15 further comprising two coaxial cylinders, one of said cylinders being adjacent to and immediately below said second distributor cone, the other cylinder being in communication with said second frustum, the two coaxial cylinders being in axial alignment with said second distributor cone and forming a second annular space therebetween for passage of the divided material.

24. An apparatus as defined in claim 15 wherein said second sampling chute and said second shaft are rotatable by said driving means.

25. An apparatus as defined in claim 24 wherein at least one of said distributor cones is firmly connected to the shaft adjacent thereto and is rotatable therewith.

26. An apparatus for the continuous sampling of divided material comprising a vertical inlet having a hollow cylinder therein, said hollow cylinder having an inverted frustum at its top end, a frustum at its bottom end, and bein adjustable vertrcally relative to said vertical inlet, an externa frustum below said vertical inlet, a distributor cone within said external frustum, a rotating sampling chute located below said distributor cone and having an upper end, a horizontal input port and two horizontal bottomless ports, said ports shaped as annular sectors and connected to said upper end of said sampling chute, one of said bottomless ports located on either side of said input port, and said input port in communication with said sampling chute, and a driving means to rotate at least said sampling chute.

27. An apparatus for the continuous sampling of divided material wherein the material is introduced into a vertical inlet and allowed to fall through a passageway between an external frustum and a distributor cone, the material thereafter being sampled by a rotating sampling chute located below said distributor cone, the sampling chute being rotated by a driving means and having an inlet at its upper end, the improvement comprising two coaxial cylinders in axial alignment with said distributor cone and an inverted, truncated conical surface in communication with said external frustum, one of said coaxial cylinders being adjacent to said distributor cone, the other coaxial cylinder being in communication with said inverted, truncated conical surface, the two coaxial cylinders and the inverted, truncated conical surface forming an annular space for and facilitating the passage and sampling of sticky divided material.

Patent No. 3,585,864 Dated June 22, 1971 Inventofls) Roland Dellves It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

. Column 4, line 46, "into" should be onto-; line 47, "jacket 9" (first occurrence) should be jacket 9'-. Column 6, line 16, "1"

should be 7.

Signed and sealed this 11th day of April 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD MFLETCHER ,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. An apparatus for the continuous sampling of divided material wherein the material is introduced into a vertical inlet and allowed to fall through a passageway between an external frustum and a distributor cone, the material thereafter being sampled by a rotating sampling chute located below said distributor cone, the sampling chute being rotated by a driving means and having an upper end, the improvement comprising a horizontal input port and two horizontal bottomless ports, said ports being shaped as annular sectors, being supported by the upper end of said sampling chute, and being located immediately adjacent each other, one of said bottomless ports being on either side of said input port, and said input port being in communication with said sampling chute.
 2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said distributor cone is rotatable by said driving means.
 3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said external frustum has an internal and an external surface and said distributor cone has a surface thereon, and wherein the surface of said distributor cone is parallel to the internal surface of said frustum.
 4. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the divided material comprises particles of random sizes and said horizontal input port has the characteristic that its smallest dimension is at least three times that of the largest particle in said divided material.
 5. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising two coaxial cylinders in axial alignment with said distributor cone and an inverted, truncated conical surface in communication with said external frustum, one of said coaxial cylinders being adjacent to said distributor cone, the other coaxial cylinder being in communication with said inverted, truncated conical surface, the two coaxial cylinders and the inverted, truncated conical surface forming an annular space for and facilitating the passage and sampling of sticky divided material.
 6. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising two coaxial cylinders in axial alignment with said distributor cone, one of said cylinders being adjacent to and immediately below said distributor cone, the other cylinder being in communication with said external frustum, the two coaxial cylinders forming an annular space therebetween for passage of the divided material.
 7. An apparatus for the continuous sampling of divided material wherein the material is introduced into a vertical inlet and allowed to fall through a passageway between an external frustum and a distributor cone, the material thereafter being sampled by a rotating sampling chute located below said distributor cone, the sampling chute being rotated by a driving means and having an upper end, the improvement comprising a hollow cylinder having top and bottom ends, said cylinder being located within said vertical inlet and having an inverted frustum at its top end and a frustum at its bottom end.
 8. An apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein adjusting means are provided in communication with said hollow cylinder whereby said hollow cylinder is adjustable vertically relative to said vertical inlet.
 9. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising a horizontal input port and two horizontal bottomless ports, said ports being shaped as annular sectors, being connected to the upper end of said sampling chute, and being located immediately adjacent each other, one of said bottomless ports being on either side of said input port, and said input port being in communication with said sampling chute.
 10. An apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said distributor cone is rotatable by said driving means.
 11. An apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said external frustum has an internal and an external surface and said distributor cone has a surface thereon, and wherein the surface of said distributor cone is parallel to the internal surface of said frustum.
 12. An apparatus as defined in claim 7 wheRein the divided material comprises particles of random sizes and said horizontal input port has the characteristic that its smallest dimension is at least three times that of the largest particle in said divided material.
 13. An apparatus as defined in claim 7 further comprising two coaxial cylinders in axial alignment with said distributor cone and an inverted, truncated conical surface in communication with said external frustum, one of said coaxial cylinders being adjacent to said distributor cone, the other coaxial cylinder being in communication with said inverted, truncated conical surface, the two coaxial cylinders and the inverted, truncated conical surface forming an annular space for and facilitating the passage and sampling of sticky divided material.
 14. An apparatus as defined in claim 7 further comprising two coaxial cylinders in axial alignment with said distributor cone, one of said cylinders being adjacent to and immediately below said distributor cone, the other cylinder being in communication with said external frustum, the two coaxial cylinders forming an annular space therebetween for passage of the divided material.
 15. An apparatus for the continuous sampling of divided material wherein the material is introduced into a vertical inlet and allowed to fall through a first passageway between a first frustum and a first distributor cone, a portion of the material being sampled by a first sampling chute, said first chute having an upper end, being located below said distributor cone and being connected to and communicating with a first vertical shaft, said first vertical shaft being adjacent to and below said first distributor cone, and said first chute and first vertical shaft being rotatable by a driving means the said sampled portion of material is then allowed to fall through said first vertical shaft and through a second passageway between a second frustum and a second distributor cone, and thereafter said sampled portion of material is resampled by a second sampling chute, said second chute having an upper end, being located below said second distributor cone and being connected to and communicating with a second vertical shaft, said second shaft being adjacent to and below said second distributor cone, the improvement comprising a hollow cylinder having top and bottom ends, said cylinder being located within said vertical inlet and having an inverted frustum at its top end and a frustum at its bottom end. 16 An apparatus as defined in claim 15 wherein adjusting means are provided in communication with said hollow cylinder whereby said hollow cylinder is adjustable vertically relative to said vertical inlet.
 17. An apparatus as defined in claim 15 wherein said first distributor cone is firmly connected to said first vertical shaft and is rotatable therewith.
 18. An apparatus as defined in claim 15 wherein the upper end of at least one of said sampling chutes has connected thereto a horizontal input port and two horizontal bottomless ports, said ports being shaped as annular sectors and being located immediately adjacent each other, said input port communicating with said sampling chute, and said bottomless ports being located on either side of said input port.
 19. An apparatus as defined in claim 18 wherein the divided material comprises particles of random sizes and said horizontal input port has the characteristic that its smallest dimension is at least three times that of the largest particle in said divided material.
 20. An apparatus as defined in claim 15 wherein each of said first and second distributor cones has a surface and each of said first and second frustums has an internal and an external surface, and wherein the surface of at least one of said distributor cones is parallel to the internal surface of said frustum nearest thereto.
 21. An apparatus as defined in claim 15 further comprising a first and a second inverted, truncated conical surface and a first pair and a second pair of coaxial cylinders, the first inverted truncated conical surface being in communication with said first frustum and the second inverted truncated conical surface being in communication with said second frustum, one of the cylinders of said first pair of coaxial cylinders being adjacent to said first distributor cone, the other cylinder of said first pair of coaxial cylinders being in communication with said first inverted, truncated conical surface, the first pair of coaxial cylinders being in axial alignment with said first distributor cone and said first pair of coaxial cylinders and said first inverted, truncated conical surface forming a first annular space for and facilitating the passage and sampling of sticky divided material, one of the cylinders of said second pair of coaxial cylinders being adjacent to said second distributor cone, the other cylinder of said second pair of coaxial cylinders being in communication with said second inverted, truncated conical surface, the second pair of coaxial cylinders being in axial alignment with said second distributor cone, and said second pair of coaxial cylinders and the second inverted, truncated conical surface forming a second annular space for and facilitating the passage and sampling of sticky divided material.
 22. An apparatus as defined in claim 15 further comprising two coaxial cylinders, one of said cylinders being adjacent to and immediately below said first distributor cone, the other cylinder being in communication with said first frustum, the two coaxial cylinders being in axial alignment with said first distributor cone and forming a first annular space therebetween for passage of the divided material.
 23. An apparatus as defined in claim 15 further comprising two coaxial cylinders, one of said cylinders being adjacent to and immediately below said second distributor cone, the other cylinder being in communication with said second frustum, the two coaxial cylinders being in axial alignment with said second distributor cone and forming a second annular space therebetween for passage of the divided material.
 24. An apparatus as defined in claim 15 wherein said second sampling chute and said second shaft are rotatable by said driving means.
 25. An apparatus as defined in claim 24 wherein at least one of said distributor cones is firmly connected to the shaft adjacent thereto and is rotatable therewith.
 26. An apparatus for the continuous sampling of divided material comprising a vertical inlet having a hollow cylinder therein, said hollow cylinder having an inverted frustum at its top end, a frustum at its bottom end, and being adjustable vertically relative to said vertical inlet, an external frustum below said vertical inlet, a distributor cone within said external frustum, a rotating sampling chute located below said distributor cone and having an upper end, a horizontal input port and two horizontal bottomless ports, said ports shaped as annular sectors and connected to said upper end of said sampling chute, one of said bottomless ports located on either side of said input port, and said input port in communication with said sampling chute, and a driving means to rotate at least said sampling chute.
 27. An apparatus for the continuous sampling of divided material wherein the material is introduced into a vertical inlet and allowed to fall through a passageway between an external frustum and a distributor cone, the material thereafter being sampled by a rotating sampling chute located below said distributor cone, the sampling chute being rotated by a driving means and having an inlet at its upper end, the improvement comprising two coaxial cylinders in axial alignment with said distributor cone and an inverted, truncated conical surface in communication with said external frustum, one of said coaxial cylinders being adjacent to said distributor cone, the other coaxial cylinder being in communication with said inverted, truncated conical surface, the two coaxial cylinders and the inverted, truncated conical surface forming aN annular space for and facilitating the passage and sampling of sticky divided material. 